Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Medicine has placed a physician on leave for anti-Palestinian social media posts, WMAR reported.
The health system suspended Darren Klugman, MD, director of pediatric cardiac critical care, after a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter, following the Hamas attack on Israel that called Palestinians "blood thirsty morally depraved animals," according to the Nov. 17 story. After another user wrote, "Israeli policy-makers are calling quite literally for a large-scale slaughter" and to "spread out massacres across a year to displace Palestinians," he responded, "G-d willing." Johns Hopkins said it is conducting an investigation.
"Johns Hopkins Medicine and Johns Hopkins University are committed to providing a safe and inclusive environment for working, learning and patient care for every member of our community and all those we serve," a health system spokesperson told the news outlet. "Statements that explicitly threaten or extol violence against groups or individuals on the basis of national origin, race or religion violate our policies and do not represent our values."
Dr. Klugman wrote a note to colleagues apologizing for his "regrettable" and "hurtful" comments, WMAR reported.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations submitted a formal complaint to the Maryland Board of Physicians about the physician's posts, according to the story. A leader from that group said she heard from families who moved their care to a different health system following the tweets.